Category Archives: Procrastination

“Procrastination is the art…”

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“Procrastination is the art of keeping up with yesterday.”

—Don Marquis, American humorist, journalist, and author

Image from connectedhotel.com

Image from connectedhotel.com

My father Marvin is a great teacher relative to today’s quote. One of the characteristics he demonstrates quite often, given his age and occasional forgetfulness, is what I call reverse procrastination. He has developed a “do it immediately” approach to many things.

The new habit can be surprising, because he often stops in the middle of one activity and starts another that has just come to mind. If he doesn’t do it when it comes to mind, he is likely to forget to do it at all. The up side of it is that he does remember to go back and finish the first activity!

EXERCISE:

Where do you fit on the procrastination continuum of “do it now,” or “it can wait for whenever”?

What adjustments are needed to make sure you are not simply keeping up with yesterday?

“Never put off for tomorrow what you can do today.”

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“Never put off for tomorrow what you can do today.”

– Thomas Jefferson, third President of the United States (attrib.)

557Image from Flickr by Brett Jordan.

Procrastination is one of the primary reasons many people enter a coaching relationship. They just can’t seem to produce the professional and personal results they desire, and this pattern has been very familiar for years.

It’s common to think that coaching will break the habit of procrastination by bringing a level of accountability and a “just do it” perspective. Yet, while valuable, this support alone is rarely sufficient and is almost never sustainable. Instead, it’s important for each individual to gain a greater understanding for the reasons behind their painful and debilitating habit.

Exercise:

Explore the list below to see what may be the source(s) of procrastination for you:

1. Your circumstances are not optimal: the time and resources you need aren’t fully available.  The bad news is they rarely are.

2. You have no passion or desire for the activity, or no longer want to put in the effort to pursue what you may have wanted in the past.

3. You might even be sabotaging your own success because you feel unworthy of your dreams and aspirations.

4. You are afraid. This is perhaps the biggest reason people procrastinate. We are always simply afraid of the unknown, failure, and being vulnerable.

How can enhanced self-awareness, combined with your commitment to a better future, improve your orientation to action so that you don’t put off till tomorrow what you can do today?

Life lived for tomorrow

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“Life lived for tomorrow will always be just a day away from being realized.”

– Leo Buscaglia, author and motivational speaker

Image from Unsplash by Ben White

Anticipation, expectation and the promise of a better tomorrow are powerful forces that can mobilize us to call forth our most committed efforts.

On the other hand, consider happiness, joy, fulfillment, and satisfaction. These emotions are primarily experienced in the moment and not in the future.

Far too many people lose sight of what is just in front of their noses because they are gazing off over the horizons of life.

Exercise:

Regardless of whether you are near-sighted, far-sighted or have perfect vision, how will you take the time to look all around today, to experience the fullest expression of each and every moment?